Gripping or fastening means



Sept. 9 y

1,507,911 c. EICHMAN GRIPPING 0R FASTENING MEANS Filed Aug. 1'7. 1921Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,507,911 PATENT orr ca CUNO EICHMAN, OF BUCYRUS, OHIO,ASSIGNOR TO TURN-AUTO CORPORATlION OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE.

GRIPPING- 0R FASTENING Application filed August 17, 1921. Serial No.492,919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CUNo EIGHMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bucyrus, in the county of Crawford. and State of Ohio,have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Gripping orFastening Means, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and improved gripping carrier forautomobiles. One of the objects of my invention is to provide such acarrier or holder having improved holding means so that an automobilecan be readily mounted While the carrier is turned for inspection orrepair purposes. Another object of my invention is to provide a deviceof this character in which the automobile can be very securely held soas to avoid any slipping or accidents, no matter how the carrier isturned or tilted.-

Another object of my invention is to provide such a device in which theholding means can be quickly and firmly adjusted.

Other objects of my invention will be set forth in the followingdescription and drawings which show a preferred embodiment thereof.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showingmy device in operation.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the mechanism for holding or securing theautomobile.

Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4. is an enlarged elevation of the rail hook.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 shows an end view of the rail clamp. v

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section.v as on line 77 of Figure 2;

The frame of the carrier consists of substantially circular end memberswhose tops may be connected by angle bars 8 so as to stiffen them. Asshown in Fig. 1, one of the angle bars 8 may be omitted. These circularend members a have angle bars 20 at their lower portions which areriveted to them, and stays 21 are also provided so as to strengthen andstiffen the structure. Additional stiffening members 22 may be providedat the rear of the structure as shown in Fig. 1.

A rail 9 of the ordinary type is provided at the right-hand side of thestructure, as shown in Fig. 1, and another rail 9 is provided at theleft-hand side of the structure. I

The'arcuate portions 1', which preferably have a circular outline, restin grooved rollers 2 mounted in short .shafts held in bearings 3 whichare suitably connected to base rails 1. Any suitable anti-friction meansmay be used instead of thebase rollers 2 so that the entire device maybe readily tilted. 1 I The front arcuate member-4 may be moved toandheld in any desired position by any suitable and well known means, andthe 'arcuate member 4: may be provided with ratchet teeth 5 in order tofacilitate this.-

It is extremely'important'to firmly hold the automobile While it isbeing repaired or inspected.

F or this purpose, I use a plurality of, chain clamps having chains 15provided with end hooks 14 or any other suitable means for holding anydesignated part of the automobile. For example,.as illustrated in Fig.1, the front clamping members can be hooked onto or secured in anymanner to the bolts of the springs. In Fig.2, the-hooks 14 engage anysuitable members C of the automobile. I I 1 The rail-clamps 10 whichhave upperand lower hooked jaws as clearly shown in Fig. 2, can beplaced over the rails'Q. These clamps 10 are forked at their upper ends,as shown in Fig. 6 and the two ears or lugs thus formed haveperforations 17- in which a shaft 16 can be secured by suitable end nuts22. A sleeve 23 is pivotally secured I to the rail-clamp 10 by means ofthe shaft 16. An adjustable hook 11 having a shank 24, the'end of whichis threaded, can beinsert'ed within the sleeve 23 as shown in Figs. 2and 3 so that the threaded end "of the shank 2 1- projects through thesleeve. An internally threaded nut member 25 having a series of holdingprojections 26 is revolubly secured upon the sleeve23 so that bysuitablyturning the nut member 25, the chain hook 11 can be'moved to andfro. Thechain ho'ok-11is provided with a perforation 19 at the end thereof,through which the end link 26 of the chain may be connected so as to befirmly held therein. Hence, as clearly illustrated in Fig 3, one of thelinks of the chain 15 can beturned at right angles to the generaldirection of the the end link and the said link which has been passedthrough the jaw of the hook 11 as before mentioned, and holds it firmlyin said right-angle position.

A rough adjustment of the length of the chain 15 can thus be veryquickly made and by tightening up the chain hook 11, by turning themember 25 to the right, according to the position thereof shown in Fig.3, the chain 15 is tightened up with great force so that the rail-clamp10 engages the rail 9 very firmly, the bottom of the rail being engagedby the bottom jaw of the said rail clamp.

By turningthe member 25 in the opposite direction, the chain can be veryeasily loosened so that the automobile can be disconnected from theholder or carrier.

The rail clamp 10 may be cast with an opening 18 so as to secure alighter structure. The shank 24 of the hook 11 adjacent the jaw thereofis of a square cross-section to fit a correspondingly-shaped socket inthe end of the sleeve 28 to prevent any turning of the said sleeve,while the threaded end of said shank is of a round cross-section asshown in Fig. 5. The hook 14 can be caused to engage the frame member Cof the automobile A.

If desired, the links of the chain 15 can be so dimensioned, that eachof said links fits substantially tightly into the jaw of. chain hook 11,so that if one of said links is bent substantially at right angles tothe general direction of the chain, the ends there.' of aresubstantially flush with the lateral faces of the hook, so that the saidlink can be held firmly in position in the jaw of the said hook, bymeans of two adjacent links which will fit tightly against the lateralfaces of the said chain hook 11. This obviates the need of forming atying or securing loop in the chain, because the two said adjacent linkshold the intermediate link in the jaw of the said hook firmly becausethe said two adjacent links fit tightly against the lateral faces of thesaid hook, and when the force is applied by the tightening means beforedescribed, the said link which has been bent at right angles is heldmore firmly in the jaw of the said hook 11.

Thus it is obvious that the chain herein described could be replaced byany suitable bendable means. It is also obvious that the hook 11 can beso dimensioned that it can be inserted within any of the links of thechain, after which the tightening means can be operated. The arrangementbefore described is, however, preferable since a chain with relativelysmall links can be used with a large and'strong hook.

It is also obvious that various other means could be utilized forshortening what may be called the effective length of the intermediatebendable member or chain, so that when the tightening or pullingmechanism is actuated, it rapidly exerts its action upon the hook orother member connected to the automobile.

It is preferable to have the thread of hook 11 self locking, that is,the hook cannot be longitudinally moved save by actuating member 25. i

If the chain illustrated in the embodiment herein described is replacedby another bendable member such as a rope or cable, it is obvious thatsaid rope or cable can be provided with a clamp which can be adjustablysecured. thereon and which can be provided with an eye into which thehook 11 can fit, so'as to form a bight or loop and produce an effectivelength which would be shorter than the entire length of the saidintermediate bendable member.

I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, but numerouschanges and omissions can be made without departing 7 from its spirit,and I do not wish to be limited to the details hereinbefore described.

hat I claim is: 1. A gripping mechanism comprising a rail-clamp, asleeve pivoted thereto, a hook having a shank mounted in said sleeve andadapted to be guided in said sleeve so that said shank can move to andfro in said sleeve and be held against any turning movement, the end ofsaid shank being round and threaded, a nut member mounted on said sleeveand adapted to actuate said hook, a second hook having; a chainconnected thereto, the other end of said chain being connected to saidfirst mentioned hook,

the respective links of said chain intermediate the ends thereof beingadapted to be held between the jaws of said first mentioned hook, bothsaid hooks being adapted to be urged in the same direction by themovement of said nut.

2. In combination with a rail-clamp, a movable hook connected to saidrail-clamp operating means adapted to move said hook to and fro, a freehook having bendable CUNO El CHM AN.

